Tuesday, June 10, 2014

Angry, incoherent men and a proposed Domestic Abuse Registry

“I think there needs to be a cheating spouse registry for sure. That would maybe even minimize the count on the domestic battery registry for those lowlifes who choose to beat up on females. Plus, I’d like to know if a woman has a history of unfaithfulness before I go on a single date with her!” - from “Justice”, KFSM website

It seems the angrier some men get, and the more frantic their writing, the harder they find it to stick to the subject at hand - in this case, a proposed Domestic Abuse Registry for the state of Arkansas.

This is something I have written about before, so I was pleased to hear that Arkansas Representative Charlotte Douglas is hoping to put together a bill authorizing the state to create a registry of domestic abusers, similar to the sex offender registry.

Douglas is acting in support of the efforts of Laura Webb, an Arkansas victim of domestic abuse whose husband not only backed his car into her, but ran over her again as he fled the scene of the crime.

When KFSM posted the domestic abuse registry story, the comments from the Neanderthal crowd were swift and, and usual, not really to the point. While a handful of those leaving comments on KFSM’s site were (and I am among them) highly supportive of such a registry, some were living proof of why we need such a registry.

“maybe we should have a abortion registry too ! that way men would know if they are dealing with a woman who has killed before…so people cant just have made a mistake anymore and move on…now they have to wear a scarlett letter …..really ??!”

Yeah . . . cuz everybody knows that beating up women is such a rare occurrence, and once a man gets it out of his system, well, why make a federal case out of it?

Some, however, as always, saw this as for what it really was - an attack on the forces of freedom and liberty.

A fellow by the name of “Tom” wrote:

“Let’s just put everybody on a registry. DUI registry, shoplifting registry, hot check registry, speeding ticket registry, seat belt violation registry, concealed carry registry, heart attack registry, stroke registry, cancer registry, chevrolet registry, ford registry, and on and on… Oh yeah, and a registry of liberals so we know who to come after when the country finally collapses due to all these registries.”

Poor “Tom” doesn’t seem to realize that there is already a registry of sorts for folks who shoplift, drive while drunk, or pass hot checks. Some folks really do need to get out more . . .

One fellow - without the slightest bit of historical reference points to back up his claim - wrote this:

“Registries are one of the easiest to curtail the rights of people. They are dangerous and immoral.”

Offhand, one might think that beating defenseless spouses is “dangerous and immoral.” Some folks never met a political cliche they didn’t fall in love with.

In the interests of sanity, “X” made the observations that several of the comments sounded as though they came from men would probably end up on such a list, which inspired “Bob,” who wrote:

“In arkansas women can beat you’re a** u call the cops of she calls the cops your going to jail. Hell if the cops walk in and a womans beating u they will join the fight f***ing scum bag cops. And then u will get hit with $2000 in fines and have to take a years worth of classes as well. X sounds like a victim to abuse which u probably deseverd it. and most guys in there right mind don’t beat the females for no reson the females provoke it by Cheating, B****ing, humiliating, Fighting Etc. which if they put there selfs in a mans shoe then she deservers to get a beating. And some one said there will be females on this list lol i bet u money there wont be females will be imune to such a list.”

It isn’t just logic many of the would-be defenders of the Constitution seem to have trouble with here - they have also obviously declared war on the tyranny of spelling and grammar.

As ever, the most courageous online comments come from men who can’t quite seem to remember their real names. One fellow going by the name “the truth about hoodrats” had this to say not only about domestic abuse, but about any moderating, if any, that KFSM does on its website:

Another champion for liberty - “Deez” - jumped into the fray with this:

“Keep it up with these stupid laws eventually they gonna push back.”

Well, at least no one made the asinine suggestion that if women don’t want to be beaten up, they’d buy a gun.

Though they may only make up a fraction of their viewership, if you want to see the bigoted and intolerant come out to play, just check out the Facebook pages and websites of the various TV stations in Northwest Arkansas, where the lovers of freedom and liberty routinely express their contempt for those who don’t see the world through their grimy glasses.

And the more stalwart the defender of liberty, the more inclined they are to forget how to spell their name, and so must choose something they imagine to be quite clever.

It could be worse, I suppose. KFSM might yet adopt the habit of posting Twitter posts from viewers on the bottom the screen during their half hour of grins, giggles and guffaws. That would certainly be “Must See TV.”

******

Today’s Soundtrack

Today’s blog was written to the tune of the 1960 production of “Camelot,” starring Richard Burton and Julie Andrews.

I’m a sucker for musicals - just ask my dogs! I entertain them for hours whenever my wife is out of the house . . .